Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Recent roster cut wasn’t the first surprise
Mike Daniels became a shocking roster casualty last week, when the Green Bay Packers announced the Pro Bowl defensive lineman had been released after seven seasons.
He’s not the first veteran roster cut to raise eyebrows in Green Bay, particularly during the tenure of mercurial former general manager Ted Thompson. But it remains rare when a standout veteran is let go with what are presumed to be at least one or two more good years ahead.
Here are some of the other eye-openers in the last 25 years:
Jordy Nelson
One day before the start of free agency in 2018, first-year general manager Brian Gutekunst made the difficult choice of parting ways with wide receiver Jordy Nelson, who was set to turn 33 and make more than $9.25 million (with a cap hit of $12 million). His departure paved the way for the addition of Jimmy Graham, and Nelson spent the final season of his career in Oakland.
Josh Sitton
The top-of-mind analogy to the Daniels release is Sitton, the veteran Pro Bowl lineman who was shockingly cut in the final days of training camp in 2016. He was named to another Pro Bowl with the Bears in 2016, his first of two seasons in Chicago, and saw action in one game last year with Miami. He announced his retirement in April.
Charles Woodson
It wasn’t a stunner on the level of Daniels or Sitton, but there were surely some conflicted feelings when the Packers elected to move on from the threetime All-Pro and Super Bowl hero in February 2013. Woodson had battled collarbone injuries and was entering his 16th NFL season. He spent his final three seasons in Oakland, where he also began his career, and he made the Pro Bowl at age 39 in his final season.
Nick Barnett
In 2011, Barnett reported for the first day of voluntary workouts in July after the end of the lockout and was told he wouldn’t be with the Packers anymore, and so he left an hour after arriving. The linebacker had been a mainstay since he was taken in the first round of the 2003 draft.
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila
He was an underdog story who became the franchise’s all-time sacks leader and enjoyed a productive nineyear career, but injuries took a toll later in his career, and he was released during the 2008 season so the team could make room for Justin Harrell on the roster.
Santana Dotson
The defensive lineman was part of Green Bay’s Super Bowl run in 1996, but he was a cost-savings casualty in early 2002 as the Packers geared up for an aggressive free-agency push. Dotson signed with Washington but didn’t suit up in the NFL again.
Antonio Freeman
Later in 2002, the Packers waived the receiver after he declined to accept a significant pay cut. The 30-year-old’s days were numbered after the team traded for Terry Glenn and Javon Walker, though he signed a contract in 1999 that made him the NFL’s highest-paid receiver. He played the 2002 season with Philadelphia and then came back to Green Bay in 2003, appearing in 15 games and catching 14 passes.
Edgar Bennett
In 1996, Bennett became the first Packers player in nearly 20 years to break the 1,000-yard barrier, but he tore his Achilles tendon in his left foot during an exhibition game and missed all of 1997. In 1998, the team put the franchise tag on Dorsey Levens, and keeping Bennett didn’t fit in the team’s finances. He wound up signing a multi-year contract with the Chicago Bears.
Others to remember
Ezra Johnson was the organization’s all-time leader in sacks with 84 (though sacks didn’t become an official stat until 1982, reducing his official total to 41.5). He suffered a knee injury three days before the season opener and went on the injured list during the 1987 season, and he wound up released in 1988, along with another injury-plagued player in Eddie Lee Ivery.
“You can’t be so naive to think they’re going to always want you there regardless of playing hurt and giving your all and wanting to have the team win,” Johnson told the Milwaukee Sentinel at the time.
In 1986, Forrest Gregg stunned Packers fans when he cut quarterback Dickey and tight end in training camp. The veterans were coming off strong seasons, though Dickey didn’t play again and Coffman only started one more game in his final three seasons with Kansas City.
Lynn Paul Coffman